【fallen stars vs TREE】

[berriah]

Punch A Tree Log

SHRINES LORE DROP LOCATIONS FAQ NPC CONTACT MAY MINGLE MAID WEEK CLAIMS LIST

❤

A Twisted Rumor

It's the day after the Fallen Star Meeting regarding the recent rumor. As morning brightens the city's night, stories are making their way from the bottom level to the top.

"The cherry blossom tree isn't going to hurt us, is it? It looks so scary."

For those who have learned the truth about rumors, this may especially distressing to hear. There's no time to wait: If anything is going to be done to save the tree's spirit, it must be done now.

The current plan is to address the tree spirit's wish to be remembered and acknowledged by holding a picnic by the lonely cherry blossom tree. Fallen Stars hope to reenact the lively Reblooming parties that had been happening on the upper levels all month. This tree, though the origin of that tradition, exists at the bottom level of Starsand City: Where spirits and kami are still feared. The hope is that this party will soothe the raging spirit and bring it peace... and, ideally, bring back all of the people who have recently gone missing.

But the meeting also ended on a note of caution. If the spirit will not peacefully give up the missing people, then more drastic measures may need to be taken. And... Spoiler alert, but this log is titled tree FIGHT.

Timeline of Events

This log will operate a bit different from normal! It's also an experiment, so if it doesn't work then apologies in advanced! In order to maintain an easy-to-follow timeline of events, there will be a top-level for each stage of the encounter. As the encounter progresses, new top-levels will be added to reflect each stage of the Rumor.

Character top-levels are still welcome, but please try to use the top-levels for time sensitive threads. Threadjacking is welcomed & encouraged, though please be respectful of one another. And of course, make use of the feedback section!

Backtagging is also still welcome. Event stages will be staggered over the course of the next week & past threads still have time to make an impact. Please don't feel rushed!

!

Timeline of Toplevels

OOC Check-In - There will be IC consequences for participating!

Feedback - Yell at me

Questions - Ask questions, Get Answers

---

The Night Before - For preparation during the night.

The Morning Of - For preparations before heading out for the picnic.

Hanami on the First Level - The picnic that was planned at the meeting.

A Shift in Tone - Reacting to the battle start.

Battle Guidelines

• Battle A - VS Tree Spirit
  
• Battle B - VS Bread
  
• Battle C - VS ???
  
• Battles D - VS Lost Spirits
  

Aftermath - Victory Party!

code

Comments

[spacialeyes]

Eh?! Did I-- D, did I say that? S-sorry! I wasn't thinking!

[Yuuto backs away, hands help up and head beginning to turn away.]

Please don't think about it! It was a mistake!

[dereban]

[ Nope, she's grabbing him now, switching the nullification back on. Sorry, Hanyuu, you're going to wait a bit longer. ]

Sorry, whenever someone says to not think about it, I end up thinking about it more. Spill.

[spacialeyes]

[nooo wait. he wanted to run..!

He does try to teleport anyway, only to be reminded that Inaba can trap him. Yuuto is someone who wears his emotions quite clearly and right now, every signal points to fear and distress.]

I-I'm sorry! Really..! But I can't. I'll cause so much more trouble!

[dereban]

Just say it. If I don't find out now, I'll find out later. After all, if you're inviting me to your mother's shrine...

I can just ask her, right?

[ Inaba Himeko: would absolutely play the mother card if it meant getting answers. ]

And even if she wouldn't tell me, I'd find out eventually. Don't underestimate the power of the Inaba Information Network!

[spacialeyes]

[Yuuto is not used to being blackmailed by anyone but Dimitri. His blood runs cold and he begins to pale with dread. He's normally cold to the touch, but now it's that much worse. The rose tint of his mother's magic feels cruel now. All of this feels like a cruel joke now that he's been cornered by his new friend.

He averts his gaze again, shame washing over his expression.]



F, fine. But first, uhm... Were we friends before this, at least? [he is not in any position to be making demands.]

[dereban]

If I said 'yes', I'd be a liar. I'm not the kind of person that makes friends easily. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to try.

But I'd be even angrier at someone who dared call me a friend and decided to keep something important from me. I'm not the kind of pushover that can't handle it, and I'd really prefer the honest truth than sugarcoating things.

[spacialeyes]

[Yuuto's heart sinks. He must seem so desperate and pathetic in comparison then... Immediately deciding Inaba was a friend, but not knowing the first thing about honoring a friendship. He doesn't want to acknowledge how much it hurts to not have had any friend to begin with, even if Inaba was not necessarily implying it was hopeless.]

... Okay. I get it. Please let go. I won't run.

[It takes him a few tries to look her in the eye again.]

I'm, um... a Spacetime kami. That's why I said that.

[dereban]

[ She finds herself sighing. ]

"A" instead of "the", huh. Which means that there are multiple.

[ She does let go however, putting her hands on her waist. ]

That explains the thing from before, I guess. Are you the one who brought me here? Or was that someone else? I'm not going to get mad regardless of the answer being 'yes' or 'no'.

[spacialeyes]

Please don't... oh. [Right. Telling her not to think about the 'a' versus 'the' will only make Inaba angry. And Yuuto already feels like he's skating on thin ice. At least she's let him go. Having the option of escaping helps, even if he isn't planning to take it.

He shakes his head.]

No, that wasn't me. I got dragged here too and I can't get out either. Even when I ate all of that Starling, I couldn't use my power to send anyone home. I'm... not a very good kami. I'm so weak that I can't maintain my own power. So if the Rumors they tell about the Spacetime kami got attached to me, I'd...

[Yuuto bites his inner cheek. He doesn't want to look scared. It doesn't suit a kami after all. If he wants to get stronger, then he needs to project the same confidence that this mother does.

But imagining himself as the spirit attached to that tree is terrifying. He's trembling, despite his attempts to hold himself in check.]

[dereban]

If something like that starts, we'll figure something out.

[ She puts a hand on his shoulder, this time with no nullification on before pulling away. Doing that is a sign of trust, however slight. ]

We'll try our best not to let it get to that point, anyway.

[spacialeyes]

[He looks up, startled by her touch. His balance isn't altered, so he knows that she didn't use her power. It helps ground him, at least enough to correct some of his pathetic trembling.

Even so, he's caught between two distressing thoughts.]

Aren't you angry? Everyone hates me, because I can't send them home. [And then adding, in a more desperate tone;] Please don't tell anyone. I'm sorry for being selfish, but please.

[dereban]

If you told anyone that wasn't me, the possibility of them being mad at you increases exponentially. As for me? I'm not mad.

[ She says this rather straight-laced, in a way that shows that she's being honest. ]

It was like this in the last place I was in. The Witch of Dimensions learned that our homes were frozen in time and couldn't send any of us back home. It was probably something to do with the machine that our souls were summoned in.

[ Or so the theory goes, anyway. ]

But I already know that we'll go back to where we were previously eventually. This is just a detour. A vacation, I suppose. I bet that higher being that considers me a 'puppet' is having a kick out of this.

[spacialeyes]

[These revelations don't make him happy. Yuuto tries to seek comfort in the fact that another 'kami' of dimensions couldn't send people home either, but he can't. There's no comfort in hearing that Inaba is used to this and that he is yet another in a string of failures in her life.

He nods slowly. At least she understands something about his power without an explanation.]

... Mm. If I get my powers back, I can probably send you... home. [Yuuto blinks in realization.] You've never said 'home' before, have you?

[dereban]

... Ah, yeah. I didn't, because I wasn't home prior to this. I was in another world where a bunch of people from other worlds were summoned via gacha machine.

[spacialeyes]

Gacha... huh? [Yuuto would normally find that amusing. It does describe how it feels to fall between worlds pretty accurately, even if Inaba sounds to be using it literally. But it's hard to be happy or smile over something that he recognizes as painful.

He looks down. Inaba doesn't like secrets and he likes Inaba, so--]

I know how you feel. I don't have a home to return to anymore. After a few worlds, that word starts to lose meaning.

[dereban]

... Hah.

You're worse off than me in that case. I still have a home to return to. People to see. A story to be played out.

[spacialeyes]

It's not all bad... No matter what world I go to, my mother knows me right away. She can never 'have' me here, but when she saw me she still said "you're my child, aren't you?"

So I'm not unhappy. [He says

unhappily.]